South City murder : 2 years on, CBI begins probe

Ludhiana: More than a month after the Punjab and Haryana high court ordered a CBI probe into the infamous Rahul murder case of South City, the CBI on Wednesday formally began investigations by registering a fresh FIR.
On the night of January 12, 2014, 27-year-old Rahul Verma, a young businessman based in South City and son of Sudesh Verma, was stabbed multiple times at his residence by unidentified people.His sister, Priyanka, was left critically injured when she came to the rescue of her brother.
The brother-sister duo was admitted to Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), where Rahul died at around 4 am. The FIR, a copy of which is with TOI, was registered on Wednesday under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 34 (common intention) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.
The FIR said that in compliance with the high court order dated February 15, passed on a petition filed by Kunal Verma, Rahul's brother, a fresh case has been registered and entrusted to Inspector Makhan Singh of the CBI, Chandigarh, for investigation. In the meanwhile, family of the deceased expressed satisfaction over the development in the case. "I am hopeful that killers of my brothers will be identified and handed severe punishment so that we get justice", Kunal told the Times of India.
Tragic turn ahead of wedding
January 2014 was a month that was meant to be a time of celebration for the Verma family of South City. There were just nine days left for a wedding in the house and preparations were in full swing. However, fate had other plans. On the night of January 12, a group of unidentified people stormed into the residence of Verma family, attacking Rahul on the head and in the abdomen with sharp-edged weapons and without any mercy.
The only other person in the house was the soon-to-be-married Priyanka. As she came to her brother's rescue, the assailants attacked her too and left her injured critically. The brother-sister duo was rushed to DMCH. But, while Priyanka survived, Rahul breathed his last hours later.
Enemity angle
Rahul's murder, police have suspected from the beginning, has an angle of personal enmity. In the attack that cold January night, the assailants did not take away any valuables from the house. The attackers had even talked to Rahul and Priyanka for seven minutes, between 9.03pm to 9.10pm, before they attacked Rahul.